Modern manufacturing processes require that parts be delivered to work or assembly stations and stored there in a manner that facilitates operations at those stations. In the past, such deliveries of parts were often carried out by transporting parts in bins or carts, carried to the work or assembly stations by fork-lift trucks. For a variety of reasons, including improvements in efficiency and safety, manufacturing facilities are increasingly moving toward so-called “fork-free” operations, in which the delivery of parts by fork-lift trucks has largely been supplanted by mother/daughter cart arrangements pulled by manned or autonomous tugs.
A mother/daughter cart arrangement is an industrial cart system consisting of one large mother cart and one or more, smaller daughter carts. The daughter carts are designed to fit within the mother cart. Once inside, the daughter carts are locked into the mother cart. The mother cart and daughter carts are then towable together as one. Mother and daughter carts are often highly customized for optimal performance in a particular aspect of a manufacturer's operation.
The manner in which the mother and daughter carts are locked together has a major impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the mother/daughter cart system. It is desirable that such a locking system be simple to operate, rugged in nature, and adaptable to a wide range of different types of mother and daughter carts. It is also desirable to provide an apparatus and method for coupling one or more daughter carts to a mother cart in a manner that does not require the additional complication of having to lift the daughter carts off of the underlying surface during transport. It is further desirable that the mother and daughter carts, and a system and method for coupling them to one another, allow the daughter carts to be moved into, or out of, engagement with the mother cart from either side of the mother cart.